Church Senator Joins Calls to Pull Down “Sexualising” Alcohol Ad in Belmopan

Church Senator Louis Wade Jr. has added his voice to growing calls for the removal of a billboard at the entrance of Belmopan. He described it as an affront to public morality and a symptom of deeper social problems facing Belize.

While the discussion includes some seeing it as just another alcohol advertisement, others are calling it “harmful”, “disrespectful”, and “unfit for public view.”

The single billboard has opened up a much bigger question: Does Belize have a problem with what it allows to be normalised in public spaces? It features Trinidadian artist Nailah Blackman holding an alcoholic beverage in what critics describe as a suggestive pose.

“I want to join my voice along with thousands of other Belizeans in Belmopan and around the country that say that this billboard needs to be removed because it violates the sensibilities of respectable Belizeans,” Wade told Plus TV News, which he owns. 

He argued that Belize already struggles with sexual abuse, domestic violence and alcohol consumption and billboard’s messaging makes it particularly damaging.

“This is the sexualisation of women. And this very specific company has heavily advertised alcohol to women, uses marijuana paraphernalia in its packaging, and is also now using women in a highly sexualised manner,” Wade added in his interview with Plus TV News.

He added, “This is literally taking advantage of the weakness within the population in a very undignified manner.”

Wade dismissed critics who argued there were more pressing issues than a billboard, saying the pushback was “a normal response from people who clearly don’t know what is happening in Belmopan.” He maintained that residents of the capital have always remained “active as it relates to issues in Belmopan.”

“I sit here running one of the country’s only alcohol rehabs. So if we can’t speak against alcohol, then who can?” Wade added.